Happy 4th of July! Although I relaxed at home with my husband today, I did my celebrating yesterday. I kicked off the holiday weekend with a great trail ride, followed by some swimming, boogie boarding, and fireworks.
One of my good friends flew home from AZ this weekend to spend time with family and friends. I was able to snag her for a few hours and helped coordinate a morning ride. Luckily, her future sister in law has a few extra horses. Another friend of mine from Toledo was also able to join us. The four of us set out for our ride just after 9 AM. It was supposed to get up in the 90’s eventually, but at least the morning was cool.
It was a great experience for Cash. Not only did he get to meet some new friends, he also encountered some vastly different terrain. When my friend’s sister in law (to be) told me we would be doing some “off roading” I was excited! I quickly found out she was not kidding. The first hill we got to seemed as if it went straight up. It was a hill that I would have never guessed Cash could handle. After the first two horses made it up, I decided Cash would probably be just fine. I said a quick prayer and leaned forward in my saddle. Except for tripping onto one front knee, Cash made it up. His right knee was not cut and he walked without a limp, so we continued on. Next, there was a small, dry ditch. The first horse wasn’t sure about crossing it, so Cash took the lead this time. He wasn’t quite sure how to handle this obstacle and ended up jumping it! Luckily, this wasn’t our first jump so I rode through it just fine. We went up and down another handful of hills and ditches, each time Cash did great. I wish I would have gotten some pictures, but our safety was priority. He managed to make it up and down several more without any tripping.
He had a few small spooks while crossing a large bridge and passing some stacked tires. I’m not sure what the deal with the bridge was…but bridges also make me a tad bit nervous, and I’m sure he senses that. We rode through the woods on an ATV trail and let the horses cool off in the creek. After the woods, we followed along a few fields, took a dirt road, and ended up riding through a map-dot town. One girl suggested getting ice cream, which sounded great to everyone until we remembered we didn’t bring money!
As we got closer to home, the other three horses started to pick up the pace. Cash had no clue where home was, so he fell towards the back of the pack. Usually he prefers to lead, and he did at the beginning of the ride. He was pretty sweaty and worn out though, so there was no arguing from him as we let the other horses pass. We ended up riding for just a bit over 2 hours and around 8.5 miles. As soon as we reached home I untacked Cash and used my sweat scraper to remove what was dripping. Then I hosed him down and repeated with the scraper. I also checked his right front knee to make sure there wasn’t any swelling or heat after he fell onto it. I was relieved to find nothing abnormal.
For once, Cash hopped right into the trailer! I’m sure he was ready to head home to rest. We’ve been trailering for the past couple weekends and he is beginning to get the drill down. We also have plans for next weekend as well! Stay tuned to hear about that.
I couldn’t have asked for a better start to the long weekend. Not only did I get a chance to catch up with some friends, I also get to spend some quality riding time with my horse. We experienced new terrain together and I’m definitely going to be looking for some new opportunities around my own barn.
Today, I gave Cash a much deserved break. It was pretty hot again today, and I knew there would be fireworks starting in the evening. I’m hoping to venture out solo in the cool hours early tomorrow.
I hope you all are enjoying your holiday weekend! I would love to hear what your plans were! Did any of those plans include your four legged friends? Feel free to share below!
Heart Horse and Hoof 